ODE TO A POWER FAILURE

ODE TO A POWER FAILURE While I will grant that the summer was, annoyingly, warm, and humid, nothing could prepare me for an evening, with no electrical power. I knew that something was wrong, that afternoon, when what should have been a bright, sunny, afternoon, turned as dark as late sun-set. I was just finishing some corrections, of typos, on a piece of fiction, which I had been writing, when I glanced out of my darkening windows, and not only beheld the cruel darkness, of the approaching storm clouds, but I heard the rumble, of thunder, as well. While my weather radio had issued NO storm warnings, even my "powers of observation" told me to shut down ALL of my home electronics. It was a good thing that I did, since, approximately fifteen minutes, after I shut my electronics down, a bolt of lightning "took out", our local transformer (For the second time, this summer.). Since heavy rains followed the lightning, no one, even myself, was much concerned, for the first hour, of the ensuing power failure. No doubt, people were calm, and sensible, at the start, since the sun, although obscured by storm clouds, still sat, high, in the sky. The time, when people began to feel concern, and became irritable, was after the sun set, and a "blanket", as black as midnight, fell over our property. While the rains shifted, between light rain, and full on showers, numerous times, I do believe that it was the heat, and the humidity, which caused the most frustration. When the lightning knocked my favorite radio station off the air, this is when I decided to visit with a neighbor. My hope was to share some polite conversation, while the local utility worked, at restoring electrical service. During the power failure, it was only now that I realized how dependent we had, ALL, become, on electricity. And not just for operating home appliances, either. Nowadays, most homes have elaborate home entertainment centers, with stereo sound, D.V.D., and C.D. players, as well as the home computer, which I am writing this ODE on. When lightning takes out the power, our world comes crashing to a halt. It feels much like the feeling, when a car runs out of gas, and the driver must WALK to a service station. The difference is that, while a driver can buy gas, at any time, when power goes out, customers must WAIT for the utility repairmen, to restore the power. It was during this after-dark time when I came to "meet" some of my neighbors. People whom I, usually, only passed, in the halls. That night, however, I got to know these people better than I, ever, wanted to. Even if in-directly. While the foul weather had even myself in a not-so-great mood, I atleast, held my tongue, when I visited my neighbor. Our other neighbors were not so kind. For more than 90 minutes, my neighbor, and I were "assaulted", by the most profane language I had heard, in years. Normally, when I hear such language, I, simply, leave the area, and let the profane people be profane. Problem was that, while I was, silently, annoyed, at the power loss, the others were, openly, and vocally, profane, about this, and other, topics, which they discussed, in raised, and profane, voices. It was during this time that I continued to think about Bach, Beeethoven, and Louis Armstrong. This and how, once the power was restored, I could place my headphones, on my head, and forget all of the profanity, which I had been exposed to, that evening. While I will mention that the profaners were, verbally, reprimanded, multiple times, these people did not care about the feelings, of others. This is when I was happy that I had made no effort, to know these peopple. To my way of thinking, profanity should be reserved, to those moments, of shock, pain, or injury. The times when people speak out, without thinking. Enduring a nearly two hour, profane, conversation, while awaiting restoration, of electricity, was, almost, more than I could handle. In order not to be considered a "racist", however, I kept my thoughts, to myself, and just ticked off the minutes, until the power was restored. My most profound wish/desire, for the remainder, of the warm months, is that there be no further power failure. Whether by nature (lightning strikes), nor by overloaded circuits (air conditioning, due to excessive heat). On this warm, and humid, night, I have come to know my neighbors far better than I, ever, wanted to. This, un-fortunately, includes a neighhbors daughter, whom I THOUGHT was a polite, young lady. After hearing her profane language, and raised voice, during the power failure, I am glad that I took no steps, to meet this woman, before the power outage. I am left to wonder if the foul weather is really to blame, for such rude behavior, or, could it be, that SOME people just enjoy being profane, at every opportunity?